About Local Manufacturing »
Local manufacturers represent some of the most diverse, innovative businesses in San Francisco. They design and manufacture products for consumers, specialty products for other industries, or are established contract manufacturers. The businesses span a wide range, from traditional manufacturers who have been in operation for more than 100 years to entrepreneurial start-up manufacturers who have chosen to establish themselves in San Francisco in just the past year. But most of all, these companies all share an increasingly uncommon trait – local manufacturing.
The heart and soul of the local manufacturer is their workforce – the skilled craftspeople, technicians, and product designers – who enable San Francisco companies to offer ,higher quality, shorter leadtimes, more responsive customer service, and more frequent new product offerings, as compared to much larger, cost-driven national or international competitors. And, as compared to most other service or retail sectors, manufacturing consistently offers better wages and more benefits for even the most basic job roles, in turn, providing pathways to economic self-sufficiency for individuals with less traditional skills and education. Manufacturers in San Francisco play an especially important economic role in some of the City’s most disadvantaged neighborhoods, in which many of our companies are located.
Local manufacturers understand there’s a certain “pride of place” that comes from actually making a product within a defined geographic, social, and historic region. San Francisco plays an integral part of the overall value proposition of these companies, their brand, and their products.
Companies who manufacture locally do so at a higher cost, and have made a conscious decision to embrace local manufacturing as a vital component of their business strategy – to celebrate the eclectic and soulful social environs that embody San Francisco and its people – despite the added expense of keeping their operations within the City limits.